Every time anything changes or a new update (no matter how minor) is downloaded MSFS becomes unplayable until several hours are spent finding the new combination of settings or tweaks that allow it to function again.
This consists of things like, but not limited to:
Graphics setting which previously worked are now a stuttering mess
Crash to Desktop when loading into base game aircraft that have been flown the previous day
Portions of the in-game screen becoming non-functional and will no longer respond to any input
Loading of the game hangs at 3/4 of the progress bar and requires Task Manager kill to exit (even when using SAFE MODE)
Main welcome screen being blank and showing no game sections (Activities, World Map, etc)
Control mapping being completely lost and require remapping for the fifth time
It is extremely frustrating when you have limited time flying and would just like to be able to fly but another update or download has ruined another entire night troubleshooting
I’m assuming this is on PC? Also, are you talking about the Beta version, as many of the issues you describe are being reported by beta testers currently, and not in the production release?
one of the biggest issues is driver updates, specifically (although not limited to) Nvidia.
Something to remember to do is that every time you update you graphics card software, you should also clear your windows shader cache (as below). Hopefully this helps some people.
I hope you can resolve this since this is certainly not my experience. I have a very modest system; AMD 3800X, AMD 5700XT (by MSI), 32MB memory on a AS ROCK X570 Phantom Gaming 4 motherboard. I never had these kind of problems. FWIW every morning I check for AMD driver updates and Windows 10 updates (I’ll get Windows 11 when I’m forced to). Also, since I like the FBW Airbus, I check it for updates. I am careful that all are updated before starting MSFS or downloading any MSFS updates. I run this modest system with no overclocks and with most settings on High except buildings and water on Ultra. My internet connections is 250 Mbs. I get and occasional stutter but am able to run with very satisfactory performance. I know my good experience doesn’t help you with you bad experience but there are many like me that run this complicated program with no problems. I really hope you can get this fixed on your system so you can begin flying instead of fixing. Best wishes.
Mine almost mirrors yours. I too check for Windows and MS updates each time before flying, and honestly don’t get any issues. Win11 is quite stable and OK.
As a developer, my biggest complaint with the Beta Updates, is the lack of DETAILED Change note.
What is supplied may be sufficient for the average player to get some idea that some progress has been made, but for anyone trying to develop a stable asset, what is really needed is far more Technical detail of what has changed, in order to cut done in the resulting HOURS/DAYS of re-testing following an unknown change.
Asobo/MS/WT must have these changes documented (at least on would hope so !!), so is it that unreasonable to ask that they be put up (for read only), on a MS website, so all those interested, or that really NEED TO KNOW, can view.
Ideally, an ever increasing list, so that one can also go back & review what was (or was not) changed, weeks/months ago.
Otherwise, MSFS stops being a Flight Simulator, and becomes a quest type GAME.
*“You are sitting at a new airport, in a new plane, with a new update version. What do you do now , and how is it different to yesterday ?”
Fully agree. I spend more time trying to fix things and make it work than flying. It is an absolute nightmare and often I wonder if I should just stick with my previous sim, which is less visually appealing but it works and flight models are extremely accurate. This evening i spent 3.5 hours on the sim, flying maybe 35 minutes. Map window disappears when i try to drag it to my 2nd monitor, the Volocopter and ATR that just stay dark and do not work. A continuous trial and error approach to see if it works. Useless.
As someone lucky enough to never experience these issues I wonder:
have you made many changes to CFG. files or added many add ons?
I understand that it can make a difference.
I still cant get my head around the fact that some users experience all these issues as demonstrated
by this fustrated post, while others like myself run a 4K Direct x12 simulator with a consistent FPS of around 50 without any issues., smooth all the way in Ultra and High.
I feel that only a deeply comparison database will throw up the answers.
But, and I dont know if this is important; I do never add add on scenery, never change any CFG files and never buy planes or add ons outside the MP. (not that the latter is necessarily always safe).
I have never had a second thought about taking NVidia driver updates and they have never given me any issues.
It seems to be the one of the great outstanding mystery of this SIM.
I use Spacedesk to run a second breakout tablet monitor and found that unless you put the Map window in window mode it wont drag across. But I now run LittleNavMap permanently on the tablet.
I am not use the Beta. But I can’t set the graphics any lower. It just fps drops, the servers are a disaster. Just no longer playable. I think the developers just fly around in VFR a bit instead of doing a long IFR flight. I do not fly so much no more.
I am afraid of updates as always something get broken. Dont fully understand how this works as patches should fix issues not create new ones. Last time I joined a beta has issues coming out, my PC became totally unusable after. Luckily a system restore got me back without a Windows re-install. Its a very frustrating experience all in all.
It is not special for MSFS.
Not two pc’s are the same, we have different hard and software, and that is why we see different results.
I do not have many problems on the beta, but it happens.
Yesterday the Carenado Cessna 337 crashed the sim, but other planes work fine.
Something in the beta conflicts with the 337.
From my personal experience of the software industry lack of or inadequate documentation is one of the biggest failures in any project. I have known plenty of programmers that view doing documentation as tedious and boring and the better managed projects employ technical writers. Definitely not something to skimp on.
Exactly – and just as some are better at programming, there are those who are better at, and enjoy doing the documentation … My only RL experience with Game Development has been with MS FSX (as opposed to MS/Asobo MSFS-2020 ), but it is very different to Commercial or Military software development.
It is what it is, and what works (or maybe Does NOT work) with the Game Industry.
I agree and have been saying this for a long time. Most issues are down to individual home setup and even components.
Crashes in BETAs obviously need supported but in normal use it always pays to first think 'what have I changed/added/tweeked recently.
Even just adding components to a PC like upgrading memory or GPU can have unpredictable results.
But in terms of SIM software from MS we all run the same. But as you rightly indicate we might all see differt results.
IMHO: A lot of the issues with using MSFS are due to “compatibility” issues between MSFS and the hardware and software it’s running on. This would explain the considerable differential in experiences with the product. That’s why I have requested an “auto tuning” option in MSFS 2024.
The auto-tuning (or optimization as it is known is some programs) would be either built into MSFS, or a separate utility you could run, that would optimize your hardware configuration with the MSFS settings it takes to run on your system reliably and efficiently. I think this would minimize the “surprise” issues we all deal with to different degrees. The result being less need for the users to become computer system engineers!
And with all those vastly different, and massive number of combinations of hardware, addons etc, the design of a “one design fits all hardware” Optimization tool
would be near impossible, to define, yet alone code.
